Native American Leaders Join to Deliver Trust Reform and Cobell Settlement Principles to Congress

John McCain
(R-AZ), chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Sen .

indigenous societal

The trust funds
belong to an estimated 500,000 individual Indians -- monies that the
government received for the proceeds from sales and leases of resources from
the Indians' lands.
Tex G. The mission of NIGA is to advance the lives of Indian people --
economically, socially and politically .

evaluating culturally

office of the
Navajo Nation and John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American
Rights Fund, joined with them today to announce that Indian Country stands in
unity behind the Principles . Richard Pombo
(R-CA), chairman of the House Resources Committee, and Rep. Norton
Filed in 1996, the Cobell v. Admission is free and the general public is invited to attend. NIGA operates as a clearinghouse and
educational, legislative and public policy resource for tribes, policymakers
and the public on Indian gaming issues and tribal community development.

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C.
A variety of Native foods, including buffalo, salmon, crab and wild rice
will be served free on a first-come, first-served basis.

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tribes inuit

"The
Principles represent a clear breakthrough, and reflect the importance of our
working with Congress to bring a long overdue, fair, and just resolution to
trust reform and accounting.

indiantrust.

tis indigenous

Norton case, to present the Trust Reform and Cobell
Settlement Workgroup Principles as the basis of legislation that would resolve
the nine-year court battle over the federal government 's admitted failure to
account for trust funds held for Native Americans and reform the national
trust management system that continues to plague Indian tribes and individuals
who own cattle, timber, crops, oil + gas, and other resources. of Interior's own inspector general
have found that the government has mismanaged the individual Indian trusts for
over a century, breached its duty, permitted rampant fraud, and never
accounted for the monies in the trust," said Cobell. We welcome the efforts of Congress to see justice done
at long last. Our friends in Congress challenged
all of Indian Country to help draft a roadmap to justice, and we are proud to
say, we have answered that call.

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indiantrust .m.

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All are in strong support of an effort by Congress to write legislation
following the Principles roadmap that would put in place reforms to the deeply
troubled management of Indian land , resources, and monies and also settle the
Cobell v. They will transmit the Principles to Senators McCain and
Dorgan, and Representatives Pombo and Rahall today. These Principles reflect our long , difficult struggle for
justice, justice that Congress would not tolerate being denied to any other
Americans."
"For thousands of individual Indians, including many members of the Navajo
Nation , that are owed monies from the sales and leases of resources on their
lands, a fair accounting and settlement of the trust funds, and reform of the
trust system with tribal consultation, will make a meaningful difference in
their lives," said Clahchischilliage.

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The Principles were drafted in response to a request by Sen. The lawmakers
asked Indian Country to speak with a unified voice and provide a set of
principles that would guide the lawmakers' drafting of legislation to provide
for a prompt and fair resolution of the trust issue.

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Hall ("Red Tipped Arrow"), president of The National Congress of
American Indians and chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation and
Jim Gray, chairman of the Inter-Tribal Monitoring Association, and principal
chief of the Osage Nation along with Elouise Cobell, formed and led a national
working group comprised of national native leaders, organizations, and
individuals who collectively drafted the Principles. "This
national injustice has today resulted in an historic union of Indian nations
across the country and individual Indian allottee organizations, who are
rallying together behind these Principles which stand for fairness,
accountability, restitution, and honesty.narf.

Tribes From Around the Country to Perform at Free Festival of Native Music Dance Food; Festival Kicks Off National Indian Gaming Conference in San Diego

It is especially for those sites created by and for Native Americans, though scholarly sites about Native Americans may be accepted.

chippewa culturally

Byron Dorgan (D-
ND), vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Rep.
"The courts, Congress, even the Dept."
"The federal government's mismanagement of the Indian trust system for the
past 125 years has brought tremendous damage and loss to Native American
tribes and individuals across the United States," said president Hall.pdf.

tribes peoples

org; the Inter-Tribal Monitoring Association at
http://www. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is still pending before
Lamberth who is overseeing the government's efforts to reform the trust and
make the promised accounting.

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"
The text of the Principles is available at:
http://www.

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WASHINGTON, Today, in an historic union prominent
Native American leaders joined with the lead plaintiff, Elouise Cobell, in the
landmark Cobell v. Nick Rahall (D-
WV) , ranking member of the House Resources Committee who approached the tribal
leaders seeking a permanent solution to the trust scandal.

About Cobell v.S.

This category is for sites devoted to the first peoples of North America: Native Americans, American Indians, or First Nations.

natives meant

In addition to Hall,
Gray, and Cobell, other Native American advocates such as Sharon
Clahchischilliage, executive director of the Washington, D.

meant booklist

navajo. SAN DIEGO, A dramatic display of Native American
musicians , dancers and performers from around the country will be showcased in
a colorful festival of Indian music, dance and food this Sunday, April 10th,
at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.m. at the
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel (1 Market Place, San Diego) in the Manchester
Ballroom.

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"For decades, Indians
have suffered at the hands of federal bureaucrats and policies of delay,
obfuscation, and outright misrepresentation, as repeated judicial decisions
have found."
"Never before have we seen this level of cooperation among tribes, Indian
groups, and individual Indian trust beneficiaries ," said Chief Gray.ncai. and continue through 6:00 p. Sen.

The National Indian Gaming Association is a non-profit trade association
comprised of 184 American Indian Nations and other non-voting associate
members.

compendium controversial

In a 1999 ruling, U.

meant compendium

Event co-sponsors are JPMorgan Chase, Potlatch Fund and the Pechanga Band
of Luiseno Indians.

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In the process, Native
American leaders were careful to seek out the advice of Congressional staff of
both Committees. The fact that the Courts have repeatedly said what the government
did with our money -- our money -- is wrong and must be corrected is reflected
in these Principles. Make no mistake, I intend to continue to aggressively pursue
justice until this matter can be resolved in a manner that is fair to the many
Indian people whose land and money were misused by the federal government.

The category is not meant for sites marketing and selling Native American arts, crafts, and other goods, as there are several appropriate categories in the directory devoted to those sites.

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Norton class action litigation. District
Court Judge Royce Lamberth held that the government had breached its trust
responsibility to the Indians and owed them a full accounting for funds the
government was supposed to have held for them. He is currently holding a hearing into the
security of Interior Department computers that hold trust data. The judge has
said that the government's handling of the trust accounts set "the gold
standard for mismanagement of a government agency. The event will launch the National
Indian Gaming Association's annual meeting and trade show at the San Diego
Convention Center, which will run thru April 13th. Ben Nighthorse Campbell
(Northern Cheyenne), and will feature a variety of Native musicians, dancers
and storytellers from California and around the country, including Yaaw Tei Yi
(Tlingit) and Tlingit storyteller Gary Waid from Juneau, Alaska; the Acoma
Inter-Cultural Dancers from the Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico; Sicangu Oyate
from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota; and cultural interpreters and
dancers from the Makah, Warm Springs, Quinault and Haida Tribes of the
Northwest Coast.

native aboriginal

org; and
the Native American Rights Fund at http://www.org.
The festival will be hosted by former U.

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The Principles demand needed
accountability, enforceable legal standards, and fairness from the government
in exchange for ending the historic court battle. Those policies have placed substantial additional costs on the
American taxpayer.
"The longer trust reform and accounting remain unresolved, the more it
will cost and the more difficult it becomes to fix," said Echohawk. "The
Principles outline a practical and equitable solution to account for the
missing disbursements, and to create accurate records and accountings going
forward.
Additional information on the Cobell litigation is available at
http://www.S." He has held three Cabinet
officers and two Assistant Interior Secretaries in contempt of court over the
issue.

evaluating societal

The Principles also set out a number of standards and
principles for tribal and individual trust management.com/_pdfs/20050620SettlementPrinciples.com; the National Congress of American Indians at
http://www. Norton lawsuit has secured landmark victories
for individual Indian trust account holders. That decision, upheld by the
U.
The festival will start at 3:00 p.